The Altamont Enterprise - cancerhttp://altamontenterprise.com/tags/cancer
enFundraiser set to help Ruth Savino fight cancerhttp://altamontenterprise.com/community/out-about/hilltowns/04182014/fundraiser-set-help-ruth-savino-fight-cancer
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>WESTERLO — A fund-raiser for Ruth Peck Savino, who is battling breast cancer, will be held next Saturday, April 26, by the Westerlo Reformed Church and the Auxiliary of the Westerlo Fire Company at Woodman’s Hall on Route 401.</p>
<p>Savino is a member of both organizations, as well as a graduate of Berne-Knox-Westerlo. She has Stage 3 cancer, and has already undergone two surgeries. She is currently healing before beginning five months of chemotherapy and five-and-a-half weeks of radiation, followed by medications.</p>
<p>“She has a yearly total deductible of $8,000 and currently cannot work as a babysitter, which was her source of income,” according to Betty Filkins, an organizer of the fund-raiser.</p>
<p>Her family and friends have come together to help her through this rough time, and invite community members to join them in raising money so Savino can pay off her bills.</p>
<p>The fund-raiser will offer a spaghetti and meatball dinner for an $8 minimum suggested donation, as well as a Chinese auction, featuring over $2,000 worth of items. Some auction prizes include: gift certificates; a metric tool kit; a homemade table runner; and both a boys’ and girls’ basket, featuring kid-friendly items such as Spiderman cards and a pink jump rope.</p>
<p>Additionally, tax deductible donations may be sent to the Westerlo Reformed Church, Post Office Box 70, Westerlo.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">April 18, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/fund-raising" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">fund-raising</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/cancer" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cancer</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
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</div></div></div>Fri, 18 Apr 2014 19:55:13 +0000admin2732 at http://altamontenterprise.comGuilderland gymnasts trade risk for rewardhttp://altamontenterprise.com/sports/guilderland/12302013/guilderland-gymnasts-trade-risk-reward
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/jordan-j-michael" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Jordan J. Michael</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/1314" typeof="">
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_2574.jpg?itok=VB9ElbiU" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_2574.jpg?itok=9wkdRzLi" width="300" height="117" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael</p>
<p><em><strong>At ease</strong></em>: <em>Dressed up in an assortment of pink gear, some Guilderland gymnasts await their turn on the balance beam last Friday at Lynnwood Elementary during the “Think Pink” meet against Saratoga. Overall team scores weren’t recorded.</em></p>
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_2549.jpg?itok=Wnd_OdU6" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_2549.jpg?itok=2t-YyXO_" width="300" height="535" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael</p>
<p><strong><em>Anticipating her leap</em></strong> <em>to the higher bar is Guilderland gymnast Rachel Drislane during her uneven bars routine at Lynnwood Elementary last Friday. The “Think Pink” meet raised $540 to fight breast cancer, and all the gymnasts from Guilderland and Saratoga were dressed up, head to toe, in different shades of pink. Drislane scored a 4.90 on uneven bars.</em></p>
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<p><em><strong>Get the point?</strong></em> <em>Isabelle Bruno extends her right leg during her balance-beam routine for Guilderland last Friday in a meet against Saratoga. Bruno scored a 7.50 on the balance beam.</em></p>
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_2589.jpg?itok=Gm7ZuhxG" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_2589.jpg?itok=boakMdGN" width="300" height="720" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael</p>
<p><em><strong>Sky high:</strong></em> <em>Guilderland gymnast Riley McCutcheon gets some air last Friday during her balance- beam routine at Lynnwood Elementary. The “Think Pink” meet raised money for breast cancer research. McCutcheon scored a 7.70 on the balance beam.</em></p>
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_2509.jpg?itok=gbK8LIST" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_2509.jpg?itok=lWcAi5O5" width="300" height="557" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael</p>
<p><em><strong>Head rush:</strong></em> <em>Planting her hands on the vault horse while upside down is Guilderland’s Riley McCutcheon, who was the first Dutch gymnast to hit the vault last Friday during a meet against Saratoga. McCutcheon scored a 7.40 on the vault, and had an overall score of 18.50.</em></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>GUILDERLAND — Flipping and flying through the air has its risks, but, for a gymnast, landing on two feet reaps a greater reward.</p>
<p>Amid a sea of different shades of pink for its annual “Think Pink” meet that raises money to fight breast cancer, the Guilderland gymnasts landed a vast majority of their tricks last Friday at Lynnwood Elementary.</p>
<p>There were pink ribbons, pink outfits, pink make-up — and pink hair dye worn by Assistant Coach Steve Swider. When a Guilderland gymnast flipped through the air, it was like a blurred cloud of cotton candy, and when another rotated elegantly on the balance beam, it was like watching a flamingo.</p>
<p>“All gymnasts have to be risk-takers; we wouldn’t be doing it otherwise,” said Guilderland junior Naomi Downes, who had the best Dutch score (7.70) on the uneven bars. “For me, it’s mostly about having fun.”</p>
<p>Ninth-grader Emma Drislane does a difficult vault called the Yurchenko, named after a Soviet gymnast, pulling a backhand spring onto the springboard. Drislane says that fear comes with being a gymnast.</p>
<p>“In the end, everything pays off,” she added. “You just have to trust yourself and your coaches.”</p>
<p>The Guilderland coaches — Head Coach Brenda Goodnight and Swider — would never make a gymnast do tricks she wasn’t comfortable with, Drislane said.</p>
<p>However, that doesn’t mean that the Dutch gymnasts don’t push some limits.</p>
<p>“It’s a combination of strength, balance, and mind,” said Downes, a member of the Guilderland team since seventh grade. “Everyone gets nervous, I think. When that happens to me, I take a deep breath and visualize what I’m going to do.”</p>
<p>Last Friday was Drislane’s first competition of the season; she was recovering from a broken toe. Last year, Drislane missed three to four months after breaking her right ankle on a backwards tuck, also spraining her left ankle at the same time.</p>
<p>“Gymnastics is definitely dangerous, but I like the risk,” said Drislane. “There’s nerves, a lot of nerves, but you have to overcome the fear. You have to be safe with your skill set, only doing what you can do.”</p>
<p>Downes said she broke her finger once, but that’s been her only broken bone. More than anything, her muscles get pulled, she said.</p>
<p>“I’m a lot better than I used to be,” said Downes, who started gymnastics at age 9. “I had no idea what I was doing when I started, but it seemed like fun.”</p>
<p>Drislane said that, when she was really young, she would always be hanging upside down. Her mother, Melissa Drislane, signed her up for a gymnastics class.</p>
<p>“I liked to watch television upside down,” she said.</p>
<p>Last Friday, Drislane completed her first “hiccup,” which is a release move from the low bar to the high bar on the uneven bars. Her routine had a start value of 9.7, but she finished with a 7.55.</p>
<p>“Your start value depends on your skills,” said Drislane. “I’m pretty average for my age, but I’m trying to get as far as I physically can.”</p>
<p>Downes’s favorite event is the balance beam, and it was the highest score (8.45) she posted last Friday. “You can dance, tumble, and jump on it,” she said.</p>
<p>Guilderland raised $540 for breast cancer research, at the annual event, for which they charged admission.</p>
<p>Drislane said that her grandmother, Joann, battled the disease, and beat it. Luckily, Downes said, she doesn’t know anyone who had to fight cancer.</p>
<p>Here are Guilderland’s results from last Friday’s meet against Saratoga:</p>
<p>— <em>Naomi Downes</em>, 7.15 on vault, 7.70 on uneven bars, 8.45 on balance beam, and 8.10 on floor exercise;</p>
<p>— <em>Emily Borges</em>, 8.20 on vault, 8.15 on uneven bars, 8.10 on balance beam, and 8.20 on floor exercise;</p>
<p>— <em>Marina Christman</em>, 7.40 on vault, 5.00 on uneven bars, 8.30 on balance beam, and 7.90 on floor exercise;</p>
<p>— <em>Serena Munoz</em>, 8.15 on vault, 6.85 on uneven bars, 8.60 on balance beam, 8.80 on floor exercise;</p>
<p>— <em>Emma Drislane</em>, 7.40 on vault, 7.55 on uneven bars, 7.40 on balance beam, and 8.50 on floor exercise;</p>
<p>— <em>Megan Szesnat</em>, 7.90 on vault, 7.05 on uneven bars, and 7.60 on balance beam;</p>
<p>— <em>Sydney Iapoce</em>, 7.50 on vault, 5.40 on uneven bars, 6.80 on balance beam, and 7.50 on floor exercise;</p>
<p>— <em>Riley McCutcheon</em>, 7.40 on vault, 3.40 on uneven bars, and 7.70 on balance beam;</p>
<p>— <em>Courtney Raferty</em>, 7.30 on vault, 7.00 on balance beam, and 7.10 on floor exercise;</p>
<p>— <em>Rachel Drislane</em>, 7.85 on vault, 4.90 on uneven bars, 8.00 on balance beam, and 8.00 on floor exercise;</p>
<p>— <em>Shea Thomson</em>, 8.10 on vault, 6.40 on uneven bars, 7.80 on balance beam, and 8.70 on floor exercise;</p>
<p>— <em>Amanda Nieman</em>, 7.80 on vault, 7.20 on uneven bars, 7.95 on balance beam, and 8.80 on floor exercise; and</p>
<p>— <em>Isabella Bruno</em>, 7.90 on vault, 6.00 on uneven bars, 7.50 on balance beam, and 7.40 on floor exercise.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">December 30, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/gymnastics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gymnastics</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/guilderland-high-school" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Guilderland High School</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/pink" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">pink</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/cancer" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cancer</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
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</div></div></div>Tue, 31 Dec 2013 01:05:52 +0000reporter1849 at http://altamontenterprise.comFive-year-old inspires as school rallieshttp://altamontenterprise.com/news/guilderland/11272013/five-year-old-inspires-school-rallies
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/melissa-hale-spencer" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Melissa Hale-Spencer</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/1124" typeof="">
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_5126.JPG?itok=7Mq0-WAp" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_5126.JPG?itok=pwcTnISZ" width="300" height="439" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Proud participant:</strong> Dylon Conboy stands on the Westmere Elementary School stage Tuesday, holding a dollar sign to help show how much his school raised for the Leukemia &amp; Lymphoma Society. Dylan was diagnosed with leukemia just before his third birthday. He likes going to kindergarten and has shared facts about the disease and his treatment with his classmates.</p>
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<p><strong>Taking it in:</strong> A Westmere Elementary student pays rapt attention during a school assembly on Tuesday.</p>
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_5135.JPG?itok=7SgWQOeN" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_5135.JPG?itok=TC5E4zi6" width="300" height="119" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>On stage:</strong> Westmere Elementary students display posters that show how much money the school raised, in loose change, to donate to the Leukemia &amp; Lymphoma Society. At the far left is kindergartner Dylon Conboy who is being treated for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Next to him is his supportive brother, Brady, a second-grader at Westmere. </p>
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_5137.JPG?itok=GHniRfhN" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_5137.JPG?itok=-Oz2APT_" width="300" height="370" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Kid power:</strong> Beth Bini, principal at Westmere Elementary School, right, presents a $3,261.06 check to Brandy Farber of the Leukemia &amp; Lymphoma Society at a school assembly on Tuesday morning. The funds were raised in a “Pennies for Patients” campaign. “This shows kids they can be powerful,” said Bini. “They can make a difference.”</p>
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<p><strong>It’s a record:</strong> Brandy Farber of the Leukemia &amp; Lymphoma Society tells the kids at Westmere Elementary School Tuesday that the more than $3,000 they raised tops any single group’s contribution this year.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>GUILDERLAND — With Thanksgiving on the horizon, the kindergartners in Amy McFarren’s class told each other what they were thankful for.</p>
<p>Five-year-old Dylon Conboy told his classmates, “I’m thankful my Daddy donated platelets to kids that need them.”</p>
<p>Dylon knows about illness and about generosity.</p>
<p>The day before his third birthday, he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, known as ALL, in which white blood cells multiply in bone marrow, forcing out normal cells.</p>
<p>He had a fever that day, his mother recalls, and she had taken him to the family’s pediatrician, thinking it was an ear infection. He was sent to Albany Medical Center where blood tests made the diagnosis.</p>
<p>“They started chemo immediately,” said his mother, Jazz Conboy. “By the time he’s done, he’ll have had three years and three months of chemo. The first eight months were really difficult.”</p>
<p>Now Dylon is on “long-term maintenance,” she said, which consists of chemo every day at home, chemo once a month intravenously at the hospital, and every third month a spinal tap with chemo.</p>
<p>“In an odd way,” said Mrs. Conboy, “he doesn’t know life any differently…This is his world.”</p>
<p>She said that Dylon likes watching a YouTube video made at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, where young patients — some in bed, one in a wagon, many hooked up to IVs — sing along to Katy Perry’s “Roar”: “I’ve got the eye of the tiger…the fire…You’re going to hear me roar…I went from zero to my own hero…I am the champion…You’re going to hear me roar.”</p>
<p>“I cry my eyes out,” she said, when she watches the video. “He loves it and smiles. He sees kids just like him.”</p>
<p>Jazz Conboy and her husband, Jim, haven’t tried to hide Dylon’s disease from him. “He knows he has cancer,” said his mother. “He knows more medical terms than any child his age.” Yet, she said, “He doesn’t recognize what it means.”</p>
<p>Dylon and his family — his mother and father and his brother, second-grader Brady — have gotten involved in fund-raisers for the Leukemia &amp; Lymphoma Society. “We always say we’re helping other kids that are sick like Dylon,” said Mrs. Conboy.</p>
<p>Brady was just 4 when Dylon was diagnosed, and has been to the hospital with his brother and seen him “getting stuck with needles and how scary it is,” said their mother.</p>
<p>Brady was a team captain for a recent fund-raising walk and, on Tuesday, he was on stage at Westmere Elementary School, right beside his brother.</p>
<h3><strong>“Pennies for Patients”</strong></h3>
<p>Tuesday’s school assembly was the culmination of weeks of work that felt like joy.</p>
<p>When McFarren found out Dylon would be in her class she asked his parents, whom she knew, having taught Brady, what she could do. Mrs. Conboy suggested getting in touch with the Leukemia &amp; Lymphoma Society, where she contacted Brandy Farber.</p>
<p>Working with the school’s principal, Beth Bini, and colleagues Stephanie Brennan and Sarah Richardson, McFarren set up a “Pennies for Patients” campaign.</p>
<p>Westmere students were given small cartons in which they could collect loose change. Some of them did extra chores to earn money, she said; others scavenged behind couch and car cushions.</p>
<p>Each classroom had a collection box. The Olive Garden restaurant participates in these fund drives, McFarren said, and offers a party with a free meal to the group that raises the most.</p>
<p>“We didn’t want to pit classes against each other,” said McFarren. “We wanted to work together as a community.” So, instead, the school is donating the party, which will be held in a decorated room at Westmere Elementary, to the Conboy family.</p>
<p>“They are a truly amazing and loving family,” said McFarren, adding she hopes they enjoy the respite.</p>
<p>Organizers originally hoped they might raise $1,000 for the society during a three-week drive. “In the first week alone, we raised over $1,200. We were shocked,” said McFarren.</p>
<p>Dr. Bini, the principal, served as the banker, taking the funds to her bank for safekeeping.</p>
<p>“Change is heavy,” Bini said. “One class was so excited, they weighed the box.” It tipped the scales at 15 pounds.</p>
<p>“I feel like I need a bodyguard,” quipped Bini. She also said, “I’m so proud. I tell the ladies at the bank, ‘I’ll be back.’”</p>
<p>The second week, about $750 was raised. Bini talked to <em>The Enterprise</em> after that and hoped the drive would top $2,000. “This money stays local for research purposes,” she said.</p>
<p>She also said, I’m hoping we have a big finale…This shows kids they can be powerful; they can make a difference.”</p>
<p>In the end, at Tuesday’s school assembly, nine kids stood on the stage. Each held a poster with a figure, their backs to the eager audience.</p>
<p>Dylon led the line-up, holding a dollar sign. The penny posters were revealed first — six cents. Then the decimal point, then, one by one, the dollar digits. The grand total: $3,261.06.</p>
<p>The crowd went wild as Bini presented a check for that amount to Farber.</p>
<p>And, McFarren said afterwards, money is still coming in.</p>
<h3><strong>Lessons learned</strong></h3>
<p>Among the lessons her students have learned, said McFarren, is that generosity can inspire others.</p>
<p>She told a story about a student in her class who came in with about $50. “She had brought her box to dinner at a restaurant, thinking Grandma might have some loose change,” said McFarren. The waiter overheard her plea and spread the word among the restaurant staff.</p>
<p>“The waiters and waitresses pooled their tip money and give her $40,” said McFarren. “There were all kinds of stories like that….It affected our whole school community. It was amazing to see how invested everyone was.”</p>
<p>McFarren said the experience was good for Dylon. “His mom said Dylon had not opened up about how he was feeling. He helped me explain…He got in front of the entire class and talked about what he goes through at the hospital and how the doctors help him.”</p>
<p>Dylon showed his kindergarten classmates the port he has in his chest for chemotherapy.</p>
<p>“It was very matter of fact,” said McFarren of the way Dylon talked to his classmates about having leukemia. “He put it in kid terms they could understand, like, ‘Sometimes I’m sick and I need to go to the hospital for medicine….I help the doctors take my blood.’”</p>
<p>Mrs. Conboy said she wishes she could have been “a fly on the wall” to hear Dylon talking that way to his classmates. She said she was very appreciative of the support Dylon has gotten from McFarren and the entire school.</p>
<p>“You can’t do it alone,” said Mrs. Conboy, who also praised the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Albany Medical Center and the “kind and caring people” there, too.</p>
<p>Working with Dylon and his family, said McFarren, a veteran teacher, has reminded her why she first chose the profession.</p>
<p>“In a time of Common Core,” she said of new state standards, “it reminds me why I wanted to do this — I’m here for the kids. It’s not just teaching the academics but all of them.”</p>
<p>McFarren referred to an alphabet book she has read to her students, 26 Big Things Small Hands Do by Coleen Paratore, where kids learn their ABCs by applauding, building, and caring — and on through the alphabet.</p>
<p>“Little hands can make a world of difference,” McFarren said. “When we all worked together, we raised over $3,000.”</p>
<p>She also said, that, sometimes, when she’s teaching Dylon, “It’s so hard for me to not cry. He’s such a fighter, such a trouper. Lots of days, he’s tired — we keep extra snacks for him — but he pushes through.”</p>
<p>She admires the way the Conboy family pulls together. “I’ve seen pictures of Brady lying in a hospital bed with Dylon for support,” McFarren said.</p>
<p>“What a lesson this has been for all the kids,” she said of her 20 kindergarten pupils. “They’ve learned to be a good friend and to help others.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">November 27, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/cancer" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cancer</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/leukemia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">leukemia</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/kindergarten" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">kindergarten</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/westmere" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">westmere</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
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</div></div></div>Wed, 27 Nov 2013 22:00:52 +0000admin1649 at http://altamontenterprise.comFerriero's friends on the frontlineshttp://altamontenterprise.com/news/regional/10312013/ferrieros-friends-frontlines
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/melissa-hale-spencer" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Melissa Hale-Spencer</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/942" typeof="">
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/tammy%20family%20picture_0.jpg?itok=tn0wbrKU" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/tammy%20family%20picture_0.jpg?itok=kXA_zaYS" width="300" height="282" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><strong>Tammy and her boys:</strong> Tammy Ferriero, center, is surrounded by her sons — Shane Ferriero, left; Chet Ferriero, right; and Chris McAuliffe, in front. Ferriero is battling cancer with the support of her family. A fund-raiser to help cover medical expenses will be held on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 5 to 8 p.m. at The Hofbrau on Warners Lake in East Berne.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>ALTAMONT — The nine women who work at the Re-Nue Spa share a bond, and, when one of their own is hurting, they want to help.<br />
Tammy Ferriero, a stylist at the spa, is battling ovarian cancer.</p>
<p>“It’s hard for everyone to see her going through this,” said Rhonda Flansburg who owns the spa with her husband, Barry Gasparro. He’s pitching in to help, too, as are Jill Martin, Wendy Pollard, and Kelly Hess.</p>
<p>“She would never want anyone to go through this,” Flansburg went on, “but her opinion is, she’s strong and she can handle it.”</p>
<p>Ferriero’s cancer spread from her ovaries to other organs that had to be surgically removed, Flansburg said, and now she faces 18 months of chemotherapy. “She is a courageous woman…She still maintains a positive attitude and loves spending time with her family,” Flansburg went on. “Her resilience is amazing.”</p>
<p>Over the years, Flansburg and her spa have held fund-raisers for many causes, putting in pink hair extensions for breast-cancer awareness or collecting gently used prom gowns for girls who otherwise couldn’t afford them.</p>
<p>But the fund-raiser for Ferriero — on Nov. 9 at The Hofbrau on Warners Lake — has hit home.</p>
<p>“It’s startling, really,” said Flansburg. “We work with her on a regular basis. It touches our heart very much. When you work so closely with someone, you want the best for them; everyone is gathering together.”</p>
<p>Kevin Demarest has provided his Hofbrau on Warners Lake as the venue for the event. The Bavarian-style restaurant is a popular Helderberg destination.</p>
<p>The rock-and-roll band Bandboozled has volunteered to entertain.</p>
<p>Donations are being sought for an auction where bidders will buy tickets for chances to win items.</p>
<p>Asked what will happen to the funds that are raised on Nov. 9, Flansburg said, “The money will go to whatever she needs. She’ll endure chemotherapy for 18 months. She has insurance but there are co-pays.”</p>
<p>Flansburg gave one example of an unmet need: Ferriero felt nauseous recently and was prescribed medicine to alleviate it. “It cost over $300,” said Flansburg. “She didn’t get it. She felt it was too expensive.”</p>
<p>Flansburg concluded, “Everyone knows someone affected by cancer. We work with Tammy so it is someone close to us that is going through this….It’s not easy for anyone — the person going through it or the loved ones standing by, watching it happen. </p>
<p>“We love Tammy and want the best for her.”</p>
<p>****</p>
<p><em>A benefit for Tammy Ferriero will be held on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 5 to 8 p.m. at The Hofbrau, 141 Warners Lake Road, East Berne, NY 12059.</em></p>
<p><em>There will be light fare, soda, beer, and a cash bar as well as an auction and a 50-50 drawing. The band Bandboozled will provide live music.</em></p>
<p><em>Tickets, which cost $20, may be purchased in advance at Re-Nue Spa at 119 Maple Ave. in Altamont. For more information, call Rhonda Flansburg at 861-5723.</em></p>
<p><em>Contributions may also be made to Tammy Ferriero, Post Office Box 229, Altamont, NY 12009.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">October 31, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/tammy-ferriero" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Tammy Ferriero</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/rhonda-flansburg" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Rhonda Flansburg</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/re-nu-spa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Re-Nu Spa</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/cancer" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cancer</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
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</div></div></div>Fri, 01 Nov 2013 00:01:13 +0000admin1422 at http://altamontenterprise.com